Bay Ridge school gives HeartShare CEO its Brotherhood Award
A Bay Ridge school that has been handing out an “International Brotherhood Award” for more than 100 years selected a recipient this year who has been serving Brooklyn in a variety of capacities.
Bill Guarinello, president and CEO of HeartShare Human Services of New York, was the guest of honor at a special assembly at PS/IS 104, at 9115 Fifth Ave., on Feb. 14, where he was presented with the annual International Brotherhood Award by the school’s PTA. In addition to his role at HeartShare, Guarinello is also chairman of Community Board 11 in Bensonhurst and president of the Fort Hamilton Citizens Action Committee. From 2002 until 2009, he headed Brooklyn Remembers, a non-profit group that raised funds for the construction of a permanent memorial at the 69th Street pier in Bay Ridge to the borough’s residents killed in the Sept.11 attacks.
“This award means a lot to me because it truly came from the heart,” Guarinello told PTA members, teachers, students, and civic leaders in the school auditorium. “On Valentine’s Day to receive all the love I’m receiving from this school is meaningful,” he said. Guarinello’s wife Donna to whom he has been married for 39 years was also on hand to see him get the award.